Adaptive Strategies for Small-Handed Pianists

Lora Deahl and Brenda Wristen

Description

Adaptive Strategies for Small-Handed Pianists brings together information from biomechanics, ergonomics, physics, anatomy, medicine, and piano pedagogy to focus on the subject of small-handedness. The first comprehensive study of its kind, the book opens with an overview of historical, anatomical, and pedagogical perspectives and redresses long-held biases concerning those who struggle at the piano because of issues with hand size. A discussion of work efficiency, the human anatomy, and the constraints of physics serves as the theoretical basis for a focused analysis of healthy movement and piano technique as they relate to small-handedness. Separate chapters deal with specific alternative approaches: redistribution, refingering, strategies to maximize reach and power, and musical solutions for technical problems. Richly illustrated with hundreds of examples from a wide range of piano repertoire, the book is an incomparable resource for piano teachers and students, written in language that is accessible to a broad audience. It balances scholastic rigor with practical experience in the field to demonstrate that the unique physical and musical needs of the small-handed can be addressed in sensitive and appropriate ways.

Adaptive Strategies for Small-Handed Pianists

Lora Deahl and Brenda Wristen

Author Information

Lora Deahl is Professor of Piano and Keyboard Literature and Associate Dean of Curricular and Undergraduate Issues at Texas Tech University.Lora Deahl is Professor of Piano and Keyboard Literature and Associate Dean of Curricular and Undergraduate Issues at the Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts at Texas Tech University. She is recognized for her solo and chamber performances throughout the U.S., Asia, and Latin America as well as pedagogical and scholarly articles in international and national journals of music. Recipient of the Chancellor's Council Teaching Award from Texas Tech University and the Outstanding Collegiate Teacher Award from the Texas Music Teachers Association, her students hold teaching positions around the world.

Brenda Wristen is Associate Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is recognized for her research on the biomechanics of piano technique and varied aspects of musician health, and has published in numerous journals in the fields of piano pedagogy, music education, and performing arts medicine. She is a frequent presenter at international and national professional meetings.

Adaptive Strategies for Small-Handed Pianists

Lora Deahl and Brenda Wristen

Reviews and Awards

"What an impressive book-so long overdue and badly needed. Deahl and Wristen's survey of the multiple issues confronting small-handed pianists is encyclopedic in scope, while still remaining deeply practical on an everyday level. This book is of use to every piano teacher and to every pianist: its information is basic to health and comfort at the keyboard."-Catherine Kautsky, George and Marjorie Olsen Chandler Professor of Music, Chair, Keyboard Department, Lawrence University

"This book is a very welcome addition to the literature on piano playing as applied to the small-handed pianist. Co-authors Lora Deahl and Brenda Wristen, both small-handed pianists themselves, are experts in this field in terms of research and personal experience. They bring their wealth of understanding to the forefront in this seminal study ... All pianists and piano teachers will want to keep this book on their bookshelf!" --American Music Teacher

"Adaptive Strategies for Small-Handed Pianists is a revolutionary, pioneering work that addresses small-handedness in an extraordinarily comprehensive manner. The book, by Lora Deahl and Brenda Wristen, examines the many facets of pianism affected by small-handedness, and it provides numerous excellent suggestions on playing with what many perceive as a detrimental physical limitation EL This fascinating, brilliant, and groundbreaking book is an essential contribution to the field; indeed, it is a necessary volume for both pianist and university libraries.>" --Ann DuHamel, Clavier Companion